i'm chris jansing. two weeks left and every moment counts. the president is going to speak or expected to ten minutes from now. there's the warm-up act, charlie kris. polls show he won the foreign policy debate. this morning, the campaign handed out a 20-page booklet to reporters outlining an obama second term agenda and here's the ad they made to go with it. >> we're not there yet but we've made real progress and the last thing we should do is turn back now. here's my plan for the next four years. making education and training a national priority. building on our manufacturing goal. boosting american made energy. reducing the deficits responsibly by cutting where we can and asking the wealthy to pay a little more. >> last night, the president was certainly aggressive. romney may have played it safe but made no major mistakes and his supporters also declared victory.

analysts point out there's agreement on many key issues. on style, the president with zingers an pulled out the most quoted one when romney mentioned the navy. >> our navy is smaller now than any time since 1917. >> i think governor romney maybe hasn't spent time looking at how the military works. you mentioned navy, for example. fewer ships than in 1916. governor, we fewer horses than bayonets because the nature of our military's changed. >> i want to bring in dana mill bank for "the washington post" and melissa dowdy for the associated press. good morning. >> good morning, chris. >> good morning. >> let's play this with john mccain. >> i don't understand why the president seems to want to take these kind of cheap shots. bayonets and horses. what's that all about? you know? when i debated then senator

obama, i didn't criticize or belittle his lack of experience on national security issues. and he seemed to take these cheap shots. >> was it a cheap shot, liz, or make an important point? >> i think what it did is fire up the democratic base. much like how the public received joe biden, democrats loved his aggressiveness and republicans kind of, you know, criticized it. the same thing is happening today. democrats are saying obama was totally on fire. his snark was well received on the democratic side. the republicans are not as open to that and so i think with the strategy is that the democrats know and obama knows he has to fire up the base and seeing last night. >> he did take a pretty sharp tone. let's play clips here. some of the things over the course of the night. >> your strategy previously has been one that's been all over the map and is not designed to keep americans safe or to build on the opportunities that exist

in the middle east. >> attacking me is not an agenda. attacking me is not talking about how we're going to deal with the challenges that exist in the middle east. >> on the obama side, in terms of strategy, dana, do you think that the president is nervous? do you think that the campaign made a decision? we need to try to take mitt romney down a notch? >> chris, it was surprising how aggressive the president was last night and it does suggest a sense that he at least internally in the campaign that they feel that he's in an underdog position which i think comes as a bit of a surprise to those of us looking at the national polls of being a close race but not with the president at this point looking like a losing position and certainly the opposite true of romney. he seemed to not want to get -- mix it up with obama, to stay above the fray. i think a lot of this was compensation for that awful first debate the president had when the roles were entirely reversed but it is probably difficult no matter how

aggressive he was in the subsequent two to erase that position -- opinion he left in the first. >> over on the romney side in terms of strategy, do you think it was do no harm? maybe saying, look, foreign policy debate probably won't change debates unless i do something really stupid. >> i think what's happening here is the romney campaign is looking at the momentum thinking that, you know, they're on a glide path here and that their momentum will help them rise in the states. i think the challenge here is how do they get to 270? these national polls, you know, indicate momentum but really this is won state by state so i think they went in to last night saying, you know, if we can make undecided voters believe that, you know, that he is not a warmonger, that he is not going to be, you know, wanting to wage war everywhere and if we can take a more moderate position on the issues and, again, not screw up, that they think they have -- will have convinced voters that

romney meets the threshold to be a commander in chief. >> let me play for you a line from joe biden this morning doing the postgame analysis. >> the attacks being made by our friends seem to change every day. i mean, they changed their -- they've gone from rattling the saber to, you know, being doves carrying, you know, you know, a peace. i don't know what they stand for. >> is that the message we're going to hear forward now for 13 days you don't know what mitt romney stands for, whether it's foreign policy or anything else, dina? >> biden seemed almost at a loss for words there. i went in to last night's debate looking for more of that neo-con aggressive position from romney and surprising and at least obama adapted to that this time opposed to being thrown for a loop as he was in the first debate. clearly he is now going for that

independent voter. does this sort of thing work? it seems to those of us following this very closely that it's obvious that the positions are changing week to week, day-to-day but, you know what? if you're still undecided voter you probably haven't been paying attention to every little nuance. >> let's bring in professor nicolas burns. good to see you, professor. good morning. >> good morning. >> to this whole point of what the overarching argument seems to be on the obama team of a constantly changing opinion, position by mitt romney, you wrote in "the boston globe" way back on august 30th, romney's most important hurd sl that he's not given the voters a full sense of what he hopes to accomplish internationally as president. do you think since august 30th and last night he has accomplished that? >> no, i don't. i think it was a striking debate for that reason. when you run for president and you want to be commander in chief and the nation's chief

diplomat i think we voters expect the candidates have a coherent world view and a consistent set of principles and positions on the major issues and what was really striking to me about last night's debate was that -- this dramatic shift to the center by governor romney. if you go back over all the republican debates he had over a year, go through the website, what he said on iran, iraq, afghanistan and russia last night was in sharp contrast of what he said before and i think this is a problem for him. because, you know, we are really looking for judgments here, we are looking for experience. we are looking for -- does this person have a sense of the world to negotiate these really complex challenges ahead of us? and i thought he put out a confusing picture last night on that score. >> ambassador, both candidates made it clear that prevention of a nuclear iran was their objective but romney says, look, i want crippling sanctions and called for indicted ahmadinejad under the genocide convention. what about that kind of tough talk? >> it's just that, tough talk.

if you look at the position of governor romney on iran, he says that there's a disagreement with president obama but it's hard to point to it because president obama and i was in the bush administration helping on iran policy. president obama has strengthened the bush policy. taken it much further on sanctions than president bush did. and so, therefore, i think we're really looking at an issue here where there really aren't sharp differences but governor romney says there are. >> israel, a key issue and number of battleground states, most obviously florida but ohio, arizona, nevada. romney attacked the president for saying he would create daylight between the u.s. and israel. >> i will stand with israel if they are attacked. >> on several occasions, the president underscored his support for israel. do you think that last night any minds were changed on that issue? >> well, it's hard to say. you know, when's unusual about the relationship with israel

right now is there have been a number of public disagreements between the obama administration and the israeli government, prik minister netanyahu. i think that governor romney sought that opening to make that distinction but in reality the u.s. has been very supportive. the president mentioned the iron dome, anti-missile system that prevents israelis from gaza, rockets and intelligence relationship with israel is particularly pronounced in this administration. so here again, i think we're probably not looking at much of a difference between what the two individuals would do regarding israel. >> and there are a lot of issues last night where clearly they agreed but i want to underscore the point you made. you were appointed by george w. bush and seem critical of mitt romney last night and you have been generally and we talked about that "boston globe" op-ed that you wrote. what did he do not last night? what makes you uneasy and is

there something you think makes someone uneasy? >> i was neutral politically throughout my career but what i think president obama has a very solid record in international politics by any objective criteria. i think that governor romney has brought a lot of good ideas to this campaign. he wants strong american leadership. who's going to argue with that? he's connecting our domestic economic problems to our international record which is also i think a strong point for him to make. we have to have a solid base here at home but what he hasn't done and i think he needs to do is present a more sophisticated, complete screw of what his foreign policy would look like and we really didn't get that kind of insight i think last evening. >> ambassador burns, good to have you on the program. thank you so much for taking the time. >> thank you. >> let me talk a little bit more of what's going on right now an show the picture. the president has a big really going on in delray beach, florida, but using it as an

opportunity to answer when's a big criticism. what's the plan for the next four years? forward there on the sign. he's printing, actually, 3.5 million copies of his plan called "the new economic patriotism" outlining manufacturing, education, taxes, deficit reduction, health care and entitlements. dana, what do you make of that? is that an answer? >> well, he's got a lot of plans with 3.5 million copies of it, but, you know, essentially this is saying here's the various things that i have been talking about all along. i don't think anybody is going to read through this and say, page 26, uh-huh, a new proposal here. it's not a mystery of what he would do in a second term because we see what he's been doing in the first term. it's not exactly clear which policies he would be pursuing particularly regarding taxes and the debt.

on foreign policy it was quite clear as nick burns was saying agreeing with obama on a large number of issues. >> in the big picture, i'll read something that frank rooney wrote this morning in "the new york times." these presidential debates gave us su blim drama. the first one scrambling the race's momentum. the second one flavored with enough disdain for a "real housewives" season and then the ill will. romney ceding the part of bully on obama who took it on too arrogantly at times. three down. the debate drama is over, liz. moving forward, was it really just the first debate that changed things? what might happen in the next two weeks that could change things because we are at 47-47? >> right. i think what you need to watch for is a couple of different things. what the debate season did is take us back to where we were before the conventions which was a very, very tight race. in the next two weeks, you will see closing arguments.

we have seen obama start to make his but you will see another jobs report and that's going to come next friday and i think that's going to be really the last pivotal moment that is not -- manufactured by either campaigns but just a natural, you know, potential pivot point within this race. at the same time, you know, look. we have a third of the country will have voted already in early voting by that time and the votes are banked so it's either person's to win and i go back to what i was saying earlier. this is all about math and state by state and who can reach 270. and at this point, you know, you still have to when you go state by state give obama the edge. not to say romney can't do it but the path is narrower and more of -- it's a tighter course for him to get there so, you know, you have to look at the whole pick chur heture here. >> to your point, we'll talk about the strategic decisions are going to be made in the next couple of weeks to move the needle. great to see both of you.

thank you so much. >> thank you. >> thank you. we are watching for the president due to speak at any time in delray beach. little later on, traveling to dayton, ohio, meeting up with vth biden. programming note. this week, brian williams joins president obama for a series of interviews over the course of two days on the campaign trail. see them on "rock center" thursday with previews on "nightly news" and the "today" show. with our revolutionary e-trade 360 dashboard you see exactly where your money is and what it's doing live. our e-trade pro platform offers powerful functionality that's still so usable you'll actually use it. and our mobile apps are the ultimate in wherever whenever investing. no matter what kind of investor you are, you'll find the technology to help you become a better one at e-trade.

iran, israel, syria. there's a lot of foreign policy last night but coming to style points, who won? let mess bring in general wesley clark, obama campaign adviser and host of "stars earned stripes" on nbc. always good to see you, general. good morning. >> thank you. nice to be with you. >> i think a lot of people

watching the debate last night may not be familiar with the intricacies of the countries or middle eastern policy but they do look for somebody comfortable with the finger on the button as we used to say. do you think mitt romney passed the commander in chief test last night? >> well, actually, he didn't. the thing is when he goes out to partisan rallies, he tries to say his positions are different than the president's. that he's going to be tougher, stronger, meaner, more macho, more robust, greater resolve, greater force, more powerful. but when you pin him down on exactly what he would do, he has the same positions as the president and so he actually didn't pass the test because you can't say one thing in one place and something else somewhere else. foreign policy is built on the reputation of the president. and the commander in chief for

clear vision and strong resolve, for consistency. that's what mitt romney failed on last night. >> let me play for you the analysis of the running mating this morning. here it is. >> we saw a man with a command of the facts, with the kind of temperament and demeanor that makes for a great president. >> commander of the facts and the temper and demeanor. there are a lot of analysts saying that he played it safe but also he didn't do himself any major injustice and to be fair there were some differences in the way they would approach, for example, china, tougher sanctions. a variety of things where he definitely tried to differentiate himself. what is it that you think about the president that made him such the winner last night? because that sounds like what you're saying. >> well, i think the president fully explained what he did, why he did it. he linked it back to a larger vision.

really to his empathy for human affairs, for men and women in the united states and abroad. and i think when you're a leader you have to be in touch with reality. the world's not a chess board. it is not some abstract game. it's about man and women. it is about men going off to war. women being, civilians being killed. it is about using force as a last, last, last resort. it's not about bluster and chess boarding. it is really about how to navigate a way forward in a complex and dangerous world that's safe and secure. and i think that's what the president showed. governor romney simply avoided reinforcing the positions he's tried to take in partisan presentations to play it safe. he wanted to sound like he was safe and secure. he mouthed the words, he repeated the phrases of the president. but the president's actually

done it. he's made the judgments and decisions. there's a huge difference. >> well, there were quite a few points of agreement but also something that mitt romney repeated over and over again last night. here it is. >> we can't kill our way out of this mess. we're going to have to do more than going after leaders and killing bad guys. >> obviously, he was talking about bin laden, about the hierarchy of al qaeda. and it seemed to be his way of suggesting that the president may have gotten bin laden, obviously he did that, but that's not solved the overall problem we have in that region and if there is an oversimplification of this it's on the president's part when he says that we got bin laden. does he have a point? >> no, he doesn't have a point. listen. that's the same line i was using when i ran for president in 2003 against george w. bush. it's a same line president obama used when he was running for president. of course we can't kill our way out of the problem.

that's why the president has a broad array of diplomatic and economic and humanitarian and legal measures under way. the president's strengthened the cooperation with allies, we have tightened up intelligence and security arrangements with dozens of countries around the world. and so, the president -- nobody's done that better than president obama has. when governor romney says it, that's why i say he's just mouthing the phrases. president obama has actually done it. >> let me ask you, finally, do you think the debate last night moved the needle at all? do you think -- and obviously, this is something that's been your life's work, general. but do you think the foreign policy is resonating out there? >> well, i think to some extent it is. i think it was the kind of debate in which if mr. romney had come in and boggled it and looked really bad and made reckless statements he could have lost big. i think if the president hadn't

explained what he was doing and laid it out well, he would have lost. the president fulfilled his obligation better than governor romney fulfilled his obligation. and i think there are people still who are waivering back and forth. i hope that what the president explained will convince those afraid somehow that the president's approach isn't as tough as mr. romney. that it -- in fact, the president's approach is tough. it is effective. and it is effective in keeping america safe. and strengthening our role in the world. that's what it looks like to me. >> general wesley clark, as i said, always good to have you. good to see you. thanks. >> thank you. [ male announcer ] when this hotel added aflac to provide a better benefits package... oahhh! [ male announcer ] it made a big splash with the employees. [ duck yelling ] [ male announcer ] find out more at... [ duck ] aflac! [ male announcer ] ...forbusiness.com.

♪ ha ha! i was skeptical at first. but after awhile even my girlfriend noticed a difference. [ male announcer ] rogaine is proven to help stop hair loss. and for 85% of guys, it regrew hair. save up to 42% now at rogaine.com. open enrollment is here. the time to choose your medicare coverage begins october 15th and ends december 7th. so call to enroll in a plan that could give you the benefits and stability you're looking for, an aarp medicarecomplete plan insured through unitedhealthcare. what makes it complete? it can combines medicare parts a and b, which is your hospital and doctor coverage with part d prescription drug coverage, and more, all in one simple plan starting at a zero dollar monthly premium -- no more than what you already pay for medicare part b.

an aarp medicarecomplete plan offers you benefits like an annual physical, preventive screenings and immunizations for a $0 copay. you'll also have the flexibility to change doctors from a network of providers dedicated to helping you stay healthy. there's more. when you enroll in an aarp medicarecomplete plan insured through unitedhealthcare, your benefits could also include vision and hearing coverage, and prescription drug coverage accepted at pharmacies nationwide. the pharmacy saver program makes prescriptions available for as little at $2 at thousands of pharmacies. unitedhealthcare has worked with pharmacies in retail locations like these to get low costs for our members. when you enroll, you'll enjoy advantages like these for as low as a zero dollar monthly premium. this includes plans with part d prescription drug coverage. now is the time to look at your options start getting the benefits of an aarp

medicarecomplete plan insured through unitedhealthcare. remember, open enrollment ends december 7th. call unitedhealthcare today about an aarp medicarecomplete plan. you can even enroll right over the phone. or visit us online. don't wait. call now. to volunteer to help those in need. when a twinge of back pain surprises him. morning starts in high spirits, but there's a growing pain in his lower back. as lines grow longer, his pain continues to linger. but after a long day of helping others, he gets some helpful advice. just two aleve have the strength to keep back pain away all day. today, jason chose aleve. just two pills for all day pain relief. try aleve d for strong, all day long sinus and headache relief. live picture, delray beach. the president just arrived to a

raucous cheer, ovation. after his debate last night, two polls say that he came out ahead. his 23rd visit to the key battleground state of florida since he became of the united states. let's listen to barack obama. >> are you ready to go? i am fired up right now! it is good to be in florida. give it up for congressman ted dorch's here! your mayor, nelson mcduffy is here. senator maria sax. great candidate for congress, luis franco! and my friend and your former

governor, charlie krcrist is he! and i want everybody to give a huge round of applause to scott for that introduction. >> you guys really are fired up.

now, i was mentioning scott. you know, every time i need a pick-me-up, i try to see scott. in addition to some outstanding pizza. and scott and charlie crist, they were minus -- they're not democratic values. they're not republican values. they're american values. and that's what this election's all about. now, two weeks from today americans in all 50 states will step in to the voting booth but here in florida you get to start voting on saturday. and as scott just told you, if you need to know where to vote,

you go to vote.barack obama.com. but i need you to vote. because you've got a very big choice to make. it's not just a choice between two candidates or two parties. it is a choice between two very different visions for this country that we love. now, last night we had our third and last debate. i hope, i hope that during the debate i made those differences very clear. because the greatest responsibility i have as president is to keep the american people safe. that's why i ended the war in iraq so we could go after the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11. that's why we decimated al

qaeda's core leadership and brought osama bin laden the justice he deserved. that's why we're ending the war in afghanistan because after a decade of war, it's time to do some nation building here at home. in a world of new threats, and profound challenges, america needs leadership that is strong and is steady. governor romney's foreign policy has been wrong and reckless. last night, he was all over the map. did you notice that? during the debate, he said he didn't want more troops in iraq. but he was caught on video saying it was unthinkable not to leave 20,000 troops in iraq. troops that would still be there today. last night, he claimed to

support my plan to end the war in afghanistan. i'm glad he supports it. but he's opposed a timeline that would actually bring our troops home. early in this campaign, he said he'd do the opposite of whatever i did in israel. but last night, i reminded him that cooperation with israel's never been stronger. last night, he said he always supported taking on osama bin laden. but in 2007, he said it wasn't worth moving heaven and earth to catch one man. now, we've come up with a name for this condition. it's called amnesia.

we had a severe outbreak last night. it was at least stage three rom-nesia. and i just want to go over with you some of the symptoms, delray, because i want to make sure nobody in the surrounding area catches it. if you say that you love american cars during a debate, but you wrote an article titled "let detroit go bankrupt," you might have romnesia. if you talk about how much you

love teachers during a debate but said just a few weeks ago that we shouldn't hire anymore because they won't grow the economy, what do you have? i bet you've got some romnesia. if you say you love immediamedid there's a theme here. he keeps on loving stuff and wants to end it or cut it or not help it. but if you say that you love medicare but your plan turns it in to a voucher that ends the guaranteed benefit of medicare, you definitely have romnesia. so, i mean, we're breaking down the symptoms here. if you've come down with a case of romnesia, if you can't seem to remember the policies on your website, or the promises that you've been making over the six

years that you have been running for president, if you can't even remember what you said last week, don't worry. obama care covers preexisting conditions. we can fix you up! we can cure this disease! i mean, listen. let me just say this. in all seriousness, i mean, we're accustomed to seeing politicians change their positions from, like, four years ago. we are not accustomed to seeing politicians change their position from four days ago.

i mean, and we joke about romne sia but, you know what? this is something important. this is about trust. >> the president in delray beach, florida. obviously, speaking to the converted. but locking very fired up after the debate last night. busy, busy 13 days ahead. later this afternoon, he joins vice president biden in dayton, ohio, sitting six battleground states in 48 hours starting tomorrow. governor romney busy, too, joining paul ryan in both nevada and colorado today. the battleground has changed once again. our nbc political team has put iowa back in the toss-up column. nevada is now lean democratic. north carolina leaning republican. let's bring in democratic strategist chris cafinas and republican strategist chip saltsman. great to see you guys. hello. >> hello. >> great to be with you. >> chris, let's start with how

this changing battleground map alters the strategy of both cam panes. what do the next 13 days are like when you see him leaning one way or another? how closely are these decisions being made to the time where they have to show up and be somewhere? >> you will be able to tell from the candidate's schedule and how often they go to a certain state or the next two weeks which states are in play. it is that simple. and i think what you start -- the other part you start seeing the campaign haves to start making the tough decisions, the decisions you delay and which is where you don't play, where you start shifting resources away from and in to. my guess where you start to seeing it more and more resources going to ohio, wisconsin, you know, iowa, colorado. those are probably going to be the key states, virginia. where both sides realize, okay, this is where we have to play the two weeks to have a shot for this. i think the shot for the romney

campaign is that's a map more vulnerable to the president than it is to governor romney. >> chip, the decisions that are being made, i don't need to tell you latest poll shows the race 47-47. i don't know anyone who doesn't think that this isn't a very tight race. add exhaustion in to the pressure an not just the candidates feeling but the staffs are feeling and people often talk about a gaffe that could change a race. i wonder of a gaffe of mitt romney or president obama says something that gets them in to trouble or changes minds but a strategic decision in retrospect you look at and say, what in the world were they thinking? how does that all play in to this final 13, 14 days? >> yeah. that's a big part of it. when i was in the heat of the battle of the primaries of '08, i had a conference call to end and start the day and running nonstop. >> isn't that every day now? i'm not kidding. they're sleeping three, four, five hours a night if they're

lucky. >> scheduling decisions two or three days out. doing two, three, four maybe states a day and fast forward and one thing to run out of in campaigns is not only money but time. and now we're down to 13 days. every decision would make or break or win the election so you have to rest your candidates is so they're not so just dead on the stump but you also got to get them as many places as possible and a fine line because a bad comment changes the election. >> not only do -- i mean, obviously, not just talking ant mitt romney and barack obama, chris, but you're talking about the vps and all coming together today and a nice photo-op but i think it's interesting to look at how many times we're going to see them together because that's two places that you're not essentially. >> well, what's strange to me is that the romney campaign clearly has a different strategy in terms of the principles. in terms of governor romney and congressman ryan.

putting them together whereas the obama cam pan separating them to cover more territory. >> but they're together today. >> you cover your territory. i don't think you see them very much over the next two weeks together and if you do, that to me is not necessarily a smart strategy unless there might be -- this might be where they go, they're going to pour everything they've got in to ohio and the ironic thing is i think the obama campaign does the same thing because everybody knows that if ohio goes one way or the other, particularly going for obama, this race is over. governor romney cannot win if he doesn't win ohio. the math doesn't add up. >> there's another part of strategy, not just where you go, obviously, but about, chris, essentially what it is that you say and do you play it safe? do you play it safe the way mitt romney seemed to last night or go more aggressive? do you put yourself out there a

little more? when you have a race that's too close to call, when you have a map that's changing 14 days until the election, do you take some chances? chip? >> oh, i'm sorry. i thought you were talking to chris. yeah. i think in the last couple of days 47-47 we know where we are. you don't want mistakes. you will see both campaigns actually play it safe in the last 13 days. like in ohio, that is the most crucial state as we all know and about seven counties in ohio that are going to matter when we talk about the turn-out model seeing the campaigns hit it and see talking about the principles. they will be together some and seeing the first lady, ann romney out there and the sons. everybody is going to dispense of the headquarters and hit the battleground states over 14 days because every vote's going to matter in the key battleground states. >> i think it's easy to play it safe. i think both campaigns have to be aggressive. the undecided voters out there

still miraculously not fig yurled oyurl youred out they're going to vote, you have to stand out. if you say the same talking points over 13 days you are counting on them to make the decision based on what happened. you don't want to do the campaign. you want to control your destiny. >> thank you very much, chris, chip. appreciate both of you. let's bring in utah republican congressman jason chafitz. thank you for coming on. >> thank you. >> let me ask you to weigh in on that. for the next 14 days, does mitt romney play it safe or are we going to see him being aggressive out there? >> oh no. he's going to work so hard between him and paul ryan crisscrossing the country. we know what states are the so-called battleground states and mobilize and energize the base and i think clearly mitt romney has that sort of energy. i think the country knows it's off track, wants adjustment to

the extent they feel comfortable with mitt romney and paul ryan, they'll be the next president and vice president of the united states. >> i don't think either side won't work hard and not going to maximize the limited number of hours they have left. but the question is, are they going to go on offense more or playing it safe? and essentially, do no harm and believe that the message that they have out there already is enough to win. >> well, look. when you're down to 14 days and most of these states are participating in early voting, i doubt that either side is going to come out with some new big policy objective or some new policy speech. it's about energizing the base, getting out the vote. about for mitt romney's case, you know, talking about the fact that we can't afford four more years of barack obama. if you want different results you will have to elect somebody different. i think it's pounding home the economic message that the country can and must do better. can't afford four more years and i think mitt romney will convince the undecided -- if you

haven't decided yet about barack obama, about president obama, after four years, you probably won't go to the booth saying, yeah, i think so. >> let's talk about last night. we are in the home stretch and it was often feisty and with the times that mitt romney agreed with the president and more than a few, there were some fireworks. let me play for you the times when he said, basically, that he didn't have a problem with president barack obama. >> i want to underscore the same point the president made. we have to do as the president's done. i supported his action there. the president was right to up the usage of that technology. there was an effort on the part of the president to have the forces -- i concurred on this. >> did governor romney miss an opportunity there not drawing clear distinctions? >> remember when it was candidate barack obama and said

we're tt united states? i thought what a great line. in four years, that's not how president obama signaled. he's not afraid to say where they agree. and remember, governor romney operated in a situation where the democratic legislature in massachusetts 87% democrats and brought people together. that's what we're looking for in a leader and why i in part support mitt romney. you're going to pat the president on the back when you agree but major changes and differences and of course you compliment them when you agree. of course you should. >> it's good to see you. thank you so much for coming on this morning. >> thank you. appreciate it. >> we'll be right back. with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, i earn 1% cash back everywhere, every time. [ both ] 2% back on groceries. [ all ] 3% on gas!

no hoops to jump through. i earn more cash back on the things i buy most. [ woman in pet store ] it's as easy as... [ all ] one! -two. -[ all ] three! [ male announcer ] the bankamericard cash rewards credit card. apply online or at a bank of america near you.

i'd like to thank eating right, whole grain, multigrain cheerios! mom, are those my jeans? [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multigrain cheerios

according to a new study the three best habits of sustaining weight loss are keeping a food journal, not skipping meals and not eating out. extols the maintenance of healthy strategies for sustained weight loss and control. it was another late night for fact checkers to sift through the heated exchanges like this one in last night's final presidential debate. >> i said they need these companies need to go through a managed bankruptcy and in that process they can get government help and government guarantees. >> that's not what you said. >> he can take a look -- you can take a look at the op-ed. >> you did not say to provide government help. >> let's bring in laurie robertson, the managing editor of factcheck.org. good morning. >> good morning. >> who was right in that exchange over the auto bailout? >> romney was right. obama was wrong. indeed, if you look back at romney's 2008 op-ed, he argued against the bailout but he

argued for a managed bankruptcy with federal guarantees for post-bankruptcy financing so a federal loan guarantee for the post-financing bankruptcy is government help. >> they tangled over test scores. governor romney said this before. first and fourth graders were first in math and english when he was governor. >> republicans and democrats came together on a bipartisan basis to put in education principles that focused on great teachers in the classroom. >> ten years earlier. >> that was what allowed us to become the number one state in the nation. >> but that was ten years before you took office. >> absolutely. >> and then you cut education coming in to office. >> was it before he took office and did he cut education spending? >> yes. actually, the law that's largely credited with those great test scores for fourth and eighth graders is 1993 education law that emphasized test scores and increased funding. and those fourth and eighth

graders scoring at or near the top of the nation before romney took office and they remained there since. as for cutting the education budget, romney did do that when he came in to office but it is worth noting that the nate faced a budget gap and the democratic legislature also proposed cuts to close that gap. >> of course, famously now, mitt romney blasted the president over the size of our navy. >> our navy is smaller now than any time since 1917. the navy said they needed 313 ships for the mission. we're now down to 285. we are headed down to the low 200 nz a sequestration. that's unacceptable to me. i want to have the ships required by the navy. >> and led to horses and bayonets and most tweeted moment of the night. did governor romney get the numbers right? >> no. he was wrong. we are at 282 ships in 2012. that's a slight increase of 2007 and we're not at the lowest

point since 1917. in 1917, we had 342 ships but, you know, comparing those older ships to today's ships just isn't the same thing. the navy's secretary remarked earlier this year that comparing today's ships to those in year's passed was like comparing the telegraph to the smartphone. >> we look for zingers in these debates so here's one from last night. >> governor romney, i'm glad you recognize that al qaeda's a threat because a few months ago asked what's the biggest threat facing america you said russia. not lake. you said russia. in the 1980s are now calling and asking for the foreign policy back because, you know, the cold war's been over for 20 years. >> give us the fact check on that one. >> sure. obama's wrng on this one. what romney said, he called russia the number one geo-political foe and in the same interview said the greatest threat which is the president's word is a nuclear iran.

>> lori robertson, good to see you. thank you so much. thank you for staying up late and putting it together for us. >> thank you. today's tweet of the day comes from the biggest trend of the debate as we said and from the editor in chief of "glamour" magazine writing horses and bayon bayon bayonets.

and that wraps up this hour of "jansing company co." good morning, thomas. >> good morning. romnesia, that's the word of the president. the debates behind us. the reviews are in and the battleground map is changing. congressman chris van hollen and the power panel weighs in right now. plus, turning in the grades of the debate performances. did mitt romney meet the commander in chief test? plus, sandra flip on the battle

for women voters and why romney is tweeting me. details next hour. [ male announcer ] eligible for medicare? that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, they pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay. and save you up to thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs.

call today to request a free decision guide to help you better understand what medicare is all about. and which aarp medicare supplement plan works best for you. with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients... plus, there are no networks, and you'll never need a referral to see a specialist. there's a range of plans to choose from, too. and they all travel with you. anywhere in the country. join the millions who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations... and provided by unitedhealthcare insurance company, which has over 30 years of experience behind it. call today. remember, medicare supplement insurance helps cover some of what medicare doesn't pay -- expenses that could really add up. these kinds of plans could save you up to thousands

in out-of-pocket costs... you'll be able choose any doctor who accepts medicare patients. and you never need referrals. so don't wait. with all the good years ahead, look for the experience and commitment to go the distance with you. call now to request your free decision guide. this easy-to-understand guide will answer some of your questions, and help you find the aarp medicare supplement plan that's right for you. then don't get nickle and dimed by high cost investments and annoying account fees. at e-trade, our free easy-to-use online tools and experienced retirement specialists can help you build a personalized plan. and with our no annual fee iras and a wide range of low cost investments, you can execute the plan you want at a low cost. so meet with us, or go to etrade.com for a great retirement plan with low cost investments.